Top Pinot Noir from Paul Cluver Wines
"Our Pinot Noir needs a new name,” mutters Paul Clüver IV, managing director of Paul Cluver Wines in Elgin. “People tend to call it our ‘ordinary’ Pinot and it’s anything but ordinary!”
He’s right about that, with the 2009’s latest achievement being a 4 Star rating in Wine magazine’s annual Pinot Noir review, published in the June issue. He may also be right about the Seven Flags 2008 being the estate’s “culmination of dedication to the practice of viticulture and winemaking” given that it is this year’s top-scoring Pinot with 4½ Stars.
The latter’s name refers to the Clüver family crest, which sports seven flags representing the seven gifts of God. And ‘family’ is the operative word at De Rust, the name of the 2 400-hectare estate purchased by Paul’s great-great-grandfather in 1896. “He established the first grape plantings,” reveals Paul. “But it was my father who pioneered commercial vineyard-growing in Elgin in the 1980s.”
Neurosurgeon, fruit farmer, philanthropist and father of five, Dr Paul Clüver III requires little introduction. In addition to four medical degrees, he was awarded an honorary doctorate in agriculture for leadership skills that have seen him serving on the boards of various companies, both locally and abroad. In 1996 he established Thandi, SA’s first truly broad-based empowerment wine company and the world’s first Fairtrade wine brand (www. thandiwines.com) and he was also instrumental in developing the Green Mountain Eco-route, the world’s first biodiversity and wine route (www.greenmountain.co.za).
One of his greatest satisfactions, however, must be that four of his children are currently involved in the business (which also includes apple and pear orchards, a Hereford stud and eco-tourism activities). Paul jnr is the MD, Inge the financial manager (and married to winemaker Andries Burger), Karin the production manager and Liesl the marketing director, assisted by Jacqueline Harris (who is married to vineyard manager Craig Harris). It’s as close-knit as it gets, with most recent recruit Craig (previously at Bouchard Finlayson for eight years) commenting: “I’m not really meeting any new people in Elgin because I have everything that I could possibly want right here on the farm!”
Apart from the focus on sustainability (with some 60% of the property set aside for conservation in perpetuity) and “incredible” social responsibility (“they give back more to the local community than any farm I’ve ever been involved with”), Craig says the thing he likes most about working at Paul Cluver Wines is the proactive approach to farming. “There are no barriers to trying something new.”
And often it seems the person asking “Have you tried this?” or “Have you thought of that?” is Dr Clüver himself, his most famous example of hands-on involvement being the January 2010 bush fire in which he sustained severe burns. But winemaker (and son-in-law) Andries explains that, far from being interfering, Dr Clüver believes in giving his people the opportunities to prove themselves: “So I can do what I want in the winery as long as the results justify it. It’s the same for Craig – he can do something different as long as it’s reasonable and measurable.”
Given this hands-on but loose-reined approach, it’s easy to understand how Paul Cluver Wines has come so far in the 20 years since its first wines were bottled. Mind you, the winery had a few other things in its favour – its location in the Overberg’s cool, upland ward, for starters. Apart from anything else, lower-than-average temperatures and higher-than-average rainfall mean the vines are less stressed than in other areas: “Stressed vines, like stressed people, tend to get sick. Virus is not a big problem for us,” says Paul.
The cool climate also made it a nobrainer to plant aromatic whites, with Riesling having been the first vineyard established in 1987. “But it’s planted on a north-west slope,” says Paul, shaking his head. “Back then, the thinking was that Elgin might be too cool, so the grapes were planted facing the afternoon sun!”
He says 1997 was a watershed year. “It was when Andries joined us [from Nederburg] and made the first wines in our own cellar. It was also when we really started looking at where the vines were planted.”
Whites have ever since been planted on south-east slopes, while vines originally planted with a red Bordeaux-style blend in mind have been pulled out or grafted over – apart from the Cabernet Franc, which is bottled exclusively for Woolworths. “It’s a good wine but it isn’t what we’re about.”
What they are about, in red-wine terms, is Pinot Noir, not least because of cool-climate similarities as well as strong personal ties with Burgundy. “We try to go at least once a year,” says Andries, attributing the almost ethereal elegance he is now achieving in his wines to what he has learnt (and tasted) at the great domaines. “Even in Burgundy, what they’re looking for in their young wines is purity of fruit and acidity. That’s all Pinot needs for ageing well – and charmingly. Those earthy, savoury, farmyard characteristics should only develop over time.”
He believes the distinct minerality in his wines is a function of vine age, with the first blocks having been established in 1989. “There’s an iodine character, like sucking on a piece of rusted metal, from our older blocks.” Although he’s very excited about the purity of fruit coming off his new Pinot vineyard, planted higher up, he says it doesn’t yet give that ‘tantalising’ mineral core. “I can’t wait to get some age on it.”
Harvesting and vinifying all the different blocks separately, Andries says time is also an important factor when it comes to blending. “Wines seem to develop more slowly in cooler-climate, slower-ripening viticultural areas, so I leave all my wines in barrel or tank for as long as humanly possible in order for their true characters to emerge.”
Only then does he assemble the team to take part in blind tasting and blending trials. “I’ve learnt so much about building blocks from Andries,” says Paul. “Sometimes I tell him to throw something out and then, much later, when the wine wins an award or something, he says, ‘Remember that wine you threw out? It’s in this blend.’ I think it’s a bit like coriander, which I hate, but which I truly think is a necessary ingredient in Thai cuisine.”
Andries simply attributes his blending ability to his intimate knowledge of the vineyards, developed over 14 years. “I now know how the wines tend to develop, so if I taste one and it’s a bit disappointing, I can remember, oh yes, it’s that slow-starter, it just needs more time.”
In the grand scheme of things, even 14 years isn’t such a long time. “People say that we have achieved so much in so little time – and it’s true,” says Paul. “But our understanding of the property is still so limited. It’s my children who will probably see the full benefits of the learning curve we’re going through now.”
PAUL CLUVER WINES
De Rust Estate, N2, Grabouw
S34 10’ 6.2” E019 5’ 8.1”
Tel 021844 0605
info@cluver.com
www.cluver.com
Tastings and sales: Monday to Friday 9:00 to 17:00, Saturday and public holidays 9:00 to 15:00 (Sept-Apr) 10:00 to 14:00 (May-Aug). Tasting fee of R10 per person for groups of 10 or more. Free delivery for orders of 12-plus bottles to major centres.
PAUL CLUVER PINOT NOIR
There are currently 18.5 hectares planted to Pinot Noir (22.8% of total plantings). The first vines were planted in 1989 and the youngest in 2004. The soil is predominantly decomposed bokkeveld shale with underlying layers of clay. Only Burgundian clones are used, predominantly 667 and increasingly 113. “Clone 667 ripens quickly and results in very fruit-forward wines, but 113 is the way to go for elegance and classic greatness,” says Andries, who is assisted by Nina Swiegelaar in the cellar.
Each vineyard block is harvested and vinified separately, with the ‘superlative’ blocks earmarked for the Seven Flags, subject to tasting and blending trials later on. “But the wines from the top-east corner of our oldest vineyard are still almost always the best.” Grapes are hand-sorted prior to crushing, with about 20% whole bunch pressed. “It gives a chalkiness to the tannin structure which I like in great Burgundies.”
After cold maceration for four to five days, fermentation is allowed to start naturally, with up to 40% allowed to complete natural fermentation while the rest is inoculated. During fermentation, the skin cap is punched down by hand or pumped over three to four times per day, after which the wine is racked to French oak barrels – 20% new French oak, the rest second, third and fourth fill, mostly from Burgundian cooperage Chassin. “The wood really respects the fruit,” says Andries. “First-fill Chassin barrels impart less wood character than fourth-. ll Mercurey!” After 11 months on the fine lees, the barrels are subjected to blind tasting and blending trials, with the best selected for the Seven Flags.
BUY IT HERE
Makro (tel 0860 300 999),
Norman Goodfellows (tel 011 788 4814),
Solly Kramers Parkhurst (tel 011 788 0102),
Ultra Liquors (tel 011 4861736),
Wine Concepts (tel 021 671 9030),
Caroline’s Fine Wines (tel 021 419 8984)
WHERE TO EAT IN ELGIN
Paul Cluver Estate now boasts its own country-style restaurant named Fresh, a welcoming buite kombuis (outdoor kitchen) run by Joan Lancefield. “She cooks beautifully,” says Paul Clüver, adding that she mostly uses ingredients from the estate’s own herb and vegetable garden. The estate’s wines are sold at cellar-door prices and by the glass, with Joan claiming that Pinot Noir matches with anything: “Even dessert!” But pressed further, she suggests a nice pasta dish for the Paul Cluver 2009 (“just not one with too much tomato”), and for the Seven Flags 2008, a piece of beef or tuna steak. Joan also does pre-ordered picnics, ideal for the popular Forest Amphitheatre summer concerts (the 2011/12 programme will be announced in September). Fresh is open between 9:00 and 16:00 Tuesday to Friday, from 08:30 to 16:00 Saturday. Tel 071.563 6020.
Winemaker Andries Burger and vineyard manager Craig Harris say there’s much more to Elgin these days than farm-stall fare at old favourites The Orchard (tel 021 859 2880), Peregrine (021 848 9011) and Houw Hoek (tel 028 284 9015). They particularly recommend Gordon Manuel’s restaurant at South Hill Vineyards for traditional French dishes (tel 021 844 0033), the Deli at Highlands Road Estate for home-cooked comforts (tel 021 849 8699) and the Bear & Barrel in Grabouw (tel 021 859 2042) for informal but hearty pub food. Nearby there is also Thandi Farm Kitchen (tel 021 844 0041) and The Jailhouse Café (tel 021 859 5648).
